


... and the Kitchen Sink, as Well!

by OverMaster



Category: Ah My Goddess!, Code Geass, Fate Stay Night, Kill la Kill, Love Hina, Mahou Sensei Negima, Mai HiME, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, UQ Holder
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-24
Updated: 2014-02-24
Packaged: 2018-01-13 15:33:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1231753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverMaster/pseuds/OverMaster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A retelling of Mahou Sensei Negima plus assorted crossover works. Heavily influenced by Unequally Rational and Emotional, Decadent Habits and the 2814 Universe. Special thanks to Darkenning and Shadow Crystal Mage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	... and the Kitchen Sink, as Well!

The following work of fiction is not recommended or suggested for anyone under eighteen or with a delicate constitution.

No similarities between anyone or anything portrayed here and anything or anyone from real life was ever intended.

Absolutely no one is making any money at all out of this work of fiction.

* * *

 

 **... and the Kitchen Sink, Too!**  
  
 _ **A Fusion Story.**_  
  
With credits (again) to Shadow Crystal Mage and Darkenning.  
  
 _Keep your arms and head inside of the fanfic at all times, and please don't feed the characters._  
  


* * *

  
  
**Chapter Zero: Character Establishing Moment.**   
  


* * *

  
_Eleven Years Ago:_  
  
"It's a girl," the nurse told Nekane, carefully handing her the diminutive baby.  
  
It had been a bad year, although not, overall, as bad as the three before it. The Welsh countryside was slowly recovering from the global catastrophe, but supplies and resources were still scarce, and the crisis had made even most of the normally pleasant and helpful townsfolk embittered and hardened. Even so, Nekane Springfield still retained enough popularity and good will amongst the villagers to have earned the best medical attention the impoverished mountain town could supply during her pregnancy and childbirth. A few discreet visits paid by Uncle Nagi to the convenient persons had also helped.  
  
Even lying on bed after a pregnancy far too difficult for far too young mother, Nekane was still a lovely vision. Pale and clad in a thin white bedgown, even her long blond hair and crystal clear blue eyes gave the impression of having lightened, giving her a beautifully haunting appearance. She held the baby girl in her trembling arms for several moments, looking down at her with a vacant, distant expression, before looking back at the nurse and weakly asking, "Excuse me?"  
  
"I asked," the large woman said patiently, "what her name was."  
  
"Oh. That," Nekane said. "I don't know. I ... hadn't planned for a girl, actually." Then she remembered one of her favorite book series, and smiled while caressing the light strands of red on her child's head. "Anne, I suppose. Yes, Anne. That's a good name for a girl."  
  
The nurse looked out the window, examining the lonely street with gray eyes that were still sharp behind her glasses, which she only wore to disguise her true appearance from the pursuers she had left behind years ago, but who might still come for her when she least expected it.   
  
"Are you waiting for my family?" Nekane asked, calm and gently, cradling her daughter as best as she could.   
  
"I ..." The older woman hesitated, because she actually did care about the youngster who had helped her more than once. "I'm sure they won't take long. Most of the roads are still blocked after yesterday's storm."  
  
"Was there a storm yesterday?" Nekane repeated, slightly incredulous.   
  
The nurse nodded. "Dear God, child, didn't you notice it?" She placed a big, gentle hand on her patient's frail shoulder. "You're going to need a lot of recovery. But don't worry, we'll help you with the baby."  
  
"We?" Nekane repeated again, still mostly dazed and absent. It was then when she realized two others had appeared silently on her room's doorstep in respectful silence. A couple just short of middle age, hard working immigrants and friends of Uncle who had taken her under their wing, even sharing their own scarce resources with her. The Cocolovas. Nekane lowered her face in shame. She had, after all, sired that child in sin under their roof. She knew the Cocolovas were a traditional minded couple with stern though benevolent moral codes, and even if they had protected her while everyone whispered poisoned lies about Mr. Cocolova behind their backs, she couldn't possibly keep burdening them now. She had a child to look after, one with her own demands and needs, one born from a forbidden union. "Oh... Good morning, I, I'm sorry, I'm glad to see you here, but ..."  
  
Then Mrs. Cocolova swiftly moved to her side and gently wrapped her and her child in a warm embrace. "Don't say anything," she whispered. "It's not needed," she added, as Mr. Cocolova stood behind, talking in a low voice with the nurse. "We have talked with Seoman. It's okay now. He'll arrive shortly."  
  
Nekane sniffed. "I-I don't deserve anything of your help, I've disappointed you, and everyone, I ..."  
  
"Nonsense. There's no merit in helping those who don't need it. That's not why God placed us on this world," the red-haired woman said, with her broken yet soft Russian accent. "You need us, and now so does she, and that's all that matters. Everyone still loves you, devushka. They love to chatter, but they'll get over it. As for your family ... we will never let you down either. Oh, and look at that for proof!" she beamed, looking at the other couple who had just appeared.  
  
Nekane's heart quickened, and her smile returned. Once again, she was a starstruck child staring at her valiant hero. He panted, with a hand on the door's frame, ignoring Mr. Cocolova's subtly disapproving look. No doubt he had run all the way here, after completing another great epic task, rushing to her side through rainstorm and snow. If it had been enough to make him tired, it had to be a run for the eras, proving how much he truly loved her, and their child, and ...  
  
... and ...  
  
And then, of course, Nekane noticed the presence of the silent woman standing shortly behind him. It was the first time she had seen Arika Anarchia Entheofushia in the flesh, but she knew that had to be her. It couldn't be anyone else. She was someone who was unique ever since a first glance, a larger than life, majestic presence, who couldn't be anyone but the woman in all the stories.  
  
Nekane immediately felt pathetic, feeble, small and shameful again. A wrecked child holding a baby she had not earned. An embarrassment to her parents, her love, her child, and mostly, herself.  
  
And then Arika smiled at her, in a way that was warm, sincere and sympathetic. It was a smile completely devoid of malevolence or irony, the smile of a woman who didn't resent or held grudges. It was a helpful smile.  
  
If anything, that only made Nekane feel worse.  
  


* * *

  
_Eleven Years Later (fittingly enough):_  
  
It had been a nice life despite everything, Nekane Springfield thought as she lied on her bed, enjoying a few moments of waking rest until her sense of duty forced her to start the chores for the day. Nicer than she had deserved, that was for sure. But she had tried her best to redeem herself, hadn't she? Certainly, she had paid in her own ways, she reflected as she rubbed the slight line on her left leg that usually ached during early mornings. Then again, the rest of the village had suffered even worse than her that night, so it probably was not wise to describe that as divine punishment.  
  
Still, the boy sleeping next to her made it all worthwhile. Him, and the other child Nekane had helped to raise, the one who would be graduating with him that evening. Despite the fact they had graduated in a record time, especially him, it had still been too long without them around, having to wonder about how they would be doing at the Academy. Having him, at least, spend the last few days with her before attending the ceremony was a true joy for her. Of course, that might prove to be a short lived delight, depending on the missions they would be assigned. Nekane only could hope for something safe, quiet and close home. Like her own assignment all those years back.   
  
The one she hadn't completed anyway, because things happened.  
  
Nekane flinched to herself, but pushed that aside by deciding to start the chores already. Too much contemplation can be harmful for the spirit, after all. But as she moved, being careful not to wake up the boy in dire need of rest after his final academic tests, she noticed something strange about a certain part of Negi's anatomy that had just grazed her leg.  
  
Nekane froze, her eyes wide.  
  
 _"Sister ..."_ Negi Springfield muttered softly, trying to hug her, still in the thin layer between awareness and dreams. His eyes remained closed, but his legs rubbed against each other and Nekane's awkwardly, as his cute small face sported an expression of discomfort. But no, Nekane told herself, that couldn't be, he still was only ten years old, or rather, he would be in ...  
  
No. It definitely was what she had thought at first. Oh dear. It was unmistakable; not that Nekane had been touched by many ... of those, but what else could it be? Chamo was far away, on the run from the police, and besides, that ... thing didn't feel furry, and ...  
  
Carefully, Nekane lifted the bedsheets covering them and looked down. Yes, there it was, a tiny, pointy tenting up in the crotch of Negi's pajama bottoms. Nekane stifled a scream, blocking her mouth with a hand. What was she supposed to do in such a situation? She hadn't expected to deal with that kind of problem for another three or four years!  
  
Backing away from the bed, she slowly placed the sheets back on top of Negi, whispered a prayer, and then ran away quickly to take a shower and pretend nothing had happened while frantically worrying herself sick.  
  
Hearing the door to the bathroom violently slam shut, the red-haired boy sat up on his cousin's bed, once again chiding himself over waking up there. He had hoped he had kicked the habit during his Merdiana stay, but no, he had fallen back into it as soon as he had returned. He felt like kicking himself.  
  
Oh, and there it was again, that strange stiffness in his crotch. He wondered what had caused it this time. Magical training was exhausting both physical and mentally, and you often ended up with parts of your body feeling rigid and even aching after rigorous exercise, but Negi wasn't sure how this related to that, since he had finished his tests two weeks ago, but he had also never had physical activity involving his crotch, other than those splits in Evasive Maneuvers ...  
  
But Negi Springfield was the kind of boy who worried about everything but himself. It always went away after a while, so it couldn't be anything too bad. And there was no point in worrying Nekane about such a trivial, yet potentially embarrassing detail. English gentlemen never discussed those sorts of private matters with ladies.  
  
He expected Nekane would have him bathe intensively today, before attending the graduation, and although he dreaded it, he knew there was no point in trying to escape. Begrudgingly, he had to admit that showing up for such an important ceremony stinking would not be fitting an English gentleman, and Anya would be mad at him. And, sadly, just dousing himself with cologne and perfume didn't seem to ever work, either.  
  
Any moment now, Nekane would come out of the bath and pull him in there, to bathe him ...  
  
Oddly, not only did it take her an unusually long time to come out, but she insisted that he bathe alone. "You are to be a young man from now on," she had said, and that was it. He could not argue against HER orders to bathe, bothersome as they were.  
  
He never could disobey her. That was, ultimately, what would change his life radically shortly afterwards. Even more than the whole 'Traveling to Area Eleven' assignment ...  
  


* * *

  
  
That evening, the ceremony proved to be just as majestic and awe-inspiring as Nekane remembered hers being, if not moreso. The country had recovered remarkably well during Negi and Anya's formative years, once Emperor Charles took over the government. Nekane didn't consider herself a politically inclined person, but she was fairly satisfied with the current state of social affairs. At least in her homeland. She was given to understand the situation was considerably more turbulent overseas, but Nekane had not been fond of reading about that, since she had taken on her surrogate mother duties.  
  
The five honor graduates for that year stood before the Magus of Merdiana, while a choir chanted constantly in subdued yet omnipresent tones, adding to the solemn atmosphere of the procedures. Nekane barely knew the other three, but she had met them once during one of Negi's all too rare vacation breaks, and none of them had left a bad impression on her. They did seem an eccentric bunch, all things considered, but couldn't that be said of most if not all geniuses?  
  
"Rani Eight!" the old man in dark robes with the very long white beard called out, in a booming and strong voice fitting a much younger person, and a frail looking dark-skinned young girl with long, silky purplish hair and glasses stepped ahead to receive her diploma. Nekane had occasionally wondered what kind of family name "Eight" was, but she'd come to the conclusion that foreign mages often had names that sounded very strange for the locals. So she didn't think much of it.  
  
"Klarion Bleak!" the Magus called next. A soft but ominous _'BUM BUM BUM'_ sounded as the pale, black haired boy in question marched towards the man, politely accepting his title while his black cat pet purred and rubbed herself against his legs.  
  
"Bridget Evans!" To this call of the Headmaster, a truly sorry-looking, petite girl with blond hair and blue eyes dragged her nervous steps over, to be handed her certificate of graduation, constantly throwing terrified looks towards the smirking Klarion and impassive Rani.  
  
Nekane smiled fondly at the three, oblivious to how very few in the audience shared those feelings at all. Yes, she thought, those had to have been three very good friends for Negi and Anya! She was sure of it!  
  
"Anya Cocolova!" the Headmaster said next, as Anya marched to meet her, her chest swelling up with pride and still managing to remain flat. The red-haired girl bowed graciously for the Magus, then twirled around on one feet and walked back. She and Klarion exchanged a discreet sticking out of the tongue at each other, as the boy's cat hissed at her.  
  
Nekane felt herself soar with pride. Her child, her precious baby, had earned a title with honors. If only her father could see her now! And adding to that happiness, now it was the turn for --  
  
"Negi Springfield!" the Magus commanded, and the youngest of the graduates came along, hurrying up the aisle with a bright smile.  
  
"Yes, Sir!" The boy was so eager he had forgotten you were supposed to march in silence, not that anyone would hold that against him. Nekane's happiness was complete as he took his diploma, bathed by the silver moonlight coming down through the skylights of the Academy. Then everyone in the audience stood up and clapped for the graduates, who all bowed as one for their public. The ceremony had been flawless; no attacks of dementors, demons, trolls, hobgoblins, gremlins, leprechauns, goblins, witches, mutants, time travelers, Knightmare Frames, terrorists, the Juggernaut, slimes, vampires or werewolves for once. The random mummy assassin during the buffet had been dispatched easily with no losses. It should have clued Nekane in that the night wasn't going to end smoothly.  
  
Anya received her assignment first, when the three of them had retired to enjoy some peace and quietness at a balcony. She gushed as the words appeared on her scroll, in elegant black Gothic letters. "A fortune teller at London!" she cried in glee. "This is great! Everyone makes it big in London! Oh God, I might even meet Vincent van Ghoul! Negiiii?" She smirked his way, sure there was no way he could have gotten anything nearly as cool and incredible as the job the forces of Destiny had intended for her. "What did you get?"  
  
Nekane had been pleased for that twist as well. London was a bit further than she'd have liked, but she still could visit Anya a few times a year, until she met the conditions to become a Magistra Magi. Now, if only Negi got a similarly nice and easy job of his own.  
  
"I think it's coming out now," the boy hummed as he intently looked at his scroll, where the letters were coming out slowly, one by one. "Let's see ... this is..." he began reading aloud, "Become ... a ... teacher ..."  
  
"A teacher!" Anya laughed. "I guess there's some truth to that old saying! Those who can't, teach!"  
  
Negi, meanwhile, had paled while reading the final few words on the scroll. "... in ... Japan ..."  
  
Anya's laughter died in her suddenly dry throat.  
  
Nekane made a short choked sound, assimilated the full meaning of what she had just heard, and then made another sound of a non-human nature before falling unconscious on her back.  
  
"AHHH! SISTER!" a shocked Negi cried out. That was the last thing Nekane could hear before falling into a very bizarre dream, which we won't bother to describe here. Or will we?  
  


* * *

  
The old Headmaster sat alone in his impossibly huge office, pleasantly humming to himself after scurrying away from the frankly boring socializing that dominated the end of the graduation party. It was not like he disliked being in the company of youngsters, like most old wizards, mages and sorcerers after a few decades of cultivating a long beard and amassing a hefty collection of arcane tomes, but after dozens of graduation ceremonies, you had pretty much seen it all before and grown bored of it. Besides, there always was someone who was displeased with their choice of assignments, and discussing such things in public was so much of a faux pas. It was better to wait there, in private, until that person or persons (if it was a particularly bad year) stormed in there after a brief consultation with Donet, as was no doubt about to happen right --  
  
"MAGUS!" Anya Cocolova stormed in, followed by a mortified Negi who supported a dizzy and weeping Nekane. "Sir, we need a recount! I mean, a second opinion! What about a consultation with the spirits, Sir? That can be done, cannot it?"  
  
The old man looked up calmly from the documents he had been analyzing to kill time while waiting. What a surprise, even if he didn't show it. He had been expecting Klarion --  
  
 _'BUM BUM BUM'_  
  
How did the boy do that, anyway? Even the Magus was stumped.  
  
Negi blinked. "Were you thinking about Klarion, Professor?" he asked, over the distant ' _BUM BUM BUM'_ in the background.  
  
Gently ignoring that question, the Magus addressed Anya instead. "Ah, Miss Cocolova. Sorry to cause you any further annoyance, but not only can I not do anything about the choice of the spirits of magic, but I would have expected for you to know that already."  
  
"I'm not talking about mine, mine is awesome and incredible!" the pint sized redhead cried, pointing at Negi. "But his! Somehow, the spirits thought it would be a good idea to send Negi -- Negi of all people -- to teach in Area Eleven!"  
  
"The correct term is 'Japan'," the old master calmly corrected, before gesturing towards the boy. "Might I see it, regardless, dear lad?"  
  
"Of course, Professor!" he quickly complied, as Nekane sobbed.  
  
The old man examined the scroll, nodded twice, then showed the words to Anya. "See? It says it so right here. Japan. Not Area Eleven. I think you'll agree the spirits know better than politics, won't you?"  
  
"Th-That isn't the point!" Anya was boiling up now. "The point is, the Elevens, sorry, Japanese will eat Negi out! He's a doormat, a poor sap, a hapless wimp, a --"  
  
"A-hem," Nekane managed to cough, displaying some disagreement even through her tears.  
  
Anya flinched for a moment. "Well ... he's Negi! He isn't fit for that kind of task!"  
  
"He is, otherwise it wouldn't have been assigned to him," the man replied as he gave Negi his diploma back.  
  
"But --!" Anya protested.  
  
"He's only a child!" Nekane said.  
  
Negi blinked again. "But Sister, this morning, you told me I was already a man."  
  
"As the Eleve-- Japanese would say, it can't be helped," the Magus shrugged. "The spirits' decisions are final, and mere mortals such as we cannot contradict or disobey them. It hasn't been done during the entire history of this educational system, and I see no reason for it to happen now either."  
  
"That is cruel!" Nekane complained. "To send him alone, across the ocean, to a foreign country with a different language and customs!"  
  
"Doesn't he already know Japanese, not to mention another half a dozen foreign tongues?" the Dean curiously inquired.  
  
"I do," Negi nodded.  
  
"Can you eat raw fish with chopsticks while sleeping on the floor, huh huh?" Anya asked him. "Moron, you aren't fit to live there!"  
  
"At least tell me I can go with him! He will need protection!" Nekane said, slamming both hands on the desk, leaning forward, and desperately pleading.   
  
Unfortunately, her conservative black dress showed no cleavage, so the Magus was unfazed by her posture. "Sorry, but the customs are the Magister-to-be cannot be aided by anyone or anything but a familiar, and any Ministra they can recruit during their mission..."  
  
"MINISTRA!" Anya's pigtails stood up. "Don't make it any worse, Sir!"  
  
"Let him grow, please. He won't be a strong man as if his father if you keep doubting his capacities," the Magus requested, and that made Negi's eyebrows go up. "At his age, Nagi already was an accomplished fighter and --"  
  
"And look where that lead him!" Nekane dared to interrupt him, at her wit's end. For him to end up like Uncle, that was the last thing she wished for him.  
  
The Magus looked somewhat surprised, but not offended, she had actually dared to cut him short. That was so very unlike Nekane, but then again, a lioness looking after her cubs, and all of that. He sighed. "My apologies, but nothing can be done about it. If that's the suggested path, it is because it is the one that will work out the best for him. But I understand your concerns, so I will arrange for a friend of mine at Mahora Academy to arrange a safe position for Negi in his staff. Just the other day, we were chatting and he mentioned needing a good English teacher. That sounds right up your alley, Negi!"  
  
The boy gulped, but then nodded firmly. "If it's what I need to do to follow Father's path, I'll gladly do it, Professor."  
  
"Neeeeegiiiiii!" Anya gritted her teeth.  
  
"Negi," Nekane sighed, in a deflated, defeated way. She could sway him far from anything, but from that self-destructive race along Nagi's path. Which was exactly what Nekane wanted to steer him away from the most. She had to think of something, and quickly, but what?  
  
The old man and the boy were shaking hands now. "That's the spirit, my lad. You will like Konoe Konoemon. He was an old acquanitance of your father."  
  
"Seriously?!" he said, even more excited now.  
  
It was getting worse and worse, Nekane decided, stifling her tears. She had to do anything, no matter how drastic it seemed, to save her Negi from becoming another globe trotting vagabond running after insane adventures that would get him --  
  
"Professor!" Another boy was storming in now, his face constricted in anger. "I demand that you to do something about this 'Librarian in Gotham City' nonsense!"  
  
"Ah, Klarion," the Magus said. _('BUM BUM BUM.')_ "Please come closer and take a seat. The Springfields and Miss Cocolova were just leaving."  
  
 _Anything,_ Nekane thought, biting her lower lip. _Anything!_  
  


* * *

  
The next evening, he diligently worked on folding his clothes, his back turned to the bedroom's door. Methodically, he fitted them into his luggage piece by piece after folding, and under other circumstances, Nekane would have admired his devotion to the principles of order and tidiness she had taught him, even when he was unaware she was watching. Seeing him so happy at the prospect of leaving not only annoyed her, it hurt her as well.  
  
"Negi," she finally said, startling him and making him stop. "Are you sure you should be departing right away?"  
  
"Right now?" he echoed. "Oh, no, it won't happen until Saturday, Sister. You know, the Headmaster still has to coordinate the arrangements with his colleague, and handle the matters regarding my passport, and ... oh, I forgot to mention! I spoke with Konoemon-sensei today by a long distance call, he sounds very knowledgeable, and--!"  
  
"That's very nice to hear, Negi," Nekane tried to be patient, "but what I mean is, I think you're still too young to tackle that assignment. The diploma didn't give you any time limit. I'm sure the Magus won't object if you prepare yourself for a few years until you can handle a trip overseas on your own."  
  
"Years!" he exclaimed. "But, Sister, my father never had to wait that long to travel anywhere, did he? If I get further behind compared to his development, I'll never be able to do what he did!"  
  
"Is that ... is that really so bad? Negi, you're your own man. You don't have to slavishly follow Uncle's path. Haven't you ever thought of finding your own instead?"  
  
The boy gasped, shocked. Nekane had always supported his dream to the fullest, even when others had mocked them. Why was she acting like this now? "I ... I don't understand! Why are you --?"  
  
"All I'm saying is, Uncle was a great man, but perhaps the choices he made wouldn't be the best for you."  
  
"Why? He always made the best decisions! He always did the right thing! You've always told me so! That's why he was a great hero!"  
  
"I know, I know! But, Negi, one man's correct decisions might be wrong for another!"  
  
An expression of great distress came to his cute face. "Are ... are you telling me ... that, even if I do what he did, I wouldn't ever be as great a man as him? I, I know that, I guess, but even so, I have to try --!"  
  
"No! I'm not saying that! You can be just as great as him, if not better, but in your own way!"  
  
He blinked, then laughed with a slight blush. "Oh, no, no, I couldn't ever be greater than him."  
  
The young woman sighed. "We can discuss that later. My point right now is, I don't approve of your going to teach at Area Eleven yet."  
  
"Japan," he corrected.  
  
"I know what I said, Negi."  
  
Frustrated and confused, he frowned. "Anya can go right now without any objections. Is a single year all that much of a difference, or are the Japanese that bad? Konoemon-sensei sounded so kind."  
  
"I don't have anything against Elevens, really!" Nekane protested, a hand on her heart, sincerely oblivious to the irony in her statement. "I would say the same if you were sent anywhere else in the world! Not even because they're foreigners, but because it's too far and you're still too young!"  
  
"You told me I'm already a man."  
  
"I know what I said!" She grew exasperated. "But I'm not always right, and neither was Uncle!" Then she covered her mouth with a hand just as soon as the words had escaped her mouth.  
  
That would have been the only statement that would have made Negi Springfield mad at another living being (other than 'I hurt Anya and/or Nekane'), but coming from his cousin, it only made him baffled. "Sister?" Then, slowly, he added, "Why don't you have faith in me?"  
  
"It's not a matter of faith either! I have complete faith in you! I didn't object when you told me you wanted to subject yourself to the most exhaustive training at Merdiana, far earlier than the majority of trainees in the academy's history!"  
  
"Then, if I can do that, why can't I follow the logical next step in my development of a mage?"  
  
Nekane's shoulders slumped down. "Because I'm begging you not to. Not yet. Please. Just grant me that selfish wish, for now. Let's wait until you're a little older. I ... I don't want to lose you again, so soon."  
  
"So soon after losing Father?" he gently asked.  
  
It was only then she realized she was crying. She nodded, rubbing the tears off her face. "Yes. Yes, that is it," she confessed.  
  
He smiled. "I swear I'll do it, complete my assignment and find Father, as quickly as I can, and then I'll come back and look after you forever. We'll be always together, all three of us, and Anya. And we'll be a family, but that never can happen if I don't go there first."  
  
"Please, I said I'm begging you ..." She fell to her knees before him, gripping the lapels of his jacket.  
  
He hugged her. "Sorry. But that's the only thing I can't do for you. You'll understand, you'll see, in its due time --"  
  
"I'm older! I know better! Listen to me, will you?!" she hugged back, tightly, willing to never let him go. "Because I love you! I love you more than anyone in the world! Even more than I ever loved Uncle, or my parents, or Anya!"  
  
"I love you too," he said, briefly wondering why would she place Anya in that equation. Friends as they were, she was still not part of the family, after all. "That's precisely why I must do this."  
  
She looked directly at his face then. "I-In that, that case," she stammered, "take me with you."  
  
"But, you heard the Magus, I must do this on my own --"  
  
"You must do it," she amended, growing even more agitated, "with all the forces you can count as your own. And that, as he himself said, includes those of the one who would be like your own person in battle."  
  
"Ehhhh? What, what do you mean?"  
  
She held his cheeks between both hands and said the words that were her last desperate resource.  
  
"Make me your Ministra Magi, Negi."  
  
After a few moments of wide eyed silence, Negi asked slowly, "Are you sure?"  
  
After a few moments of doubt, she nodded. "I am."  
  
"Well ..." Negi scratched the back of his neck, "I'm flattered, certainly, that you care so much about me, even to volunteer yourself for a situation, where, ahhh ..."  
  
"I haven't had any plans to become a Magistra Magi for years, Negi," she said. "I'd be perfectly happy to be your partner."  
  
"And I appreciate that, really, I do! But are you completely sure that's what you want to do with your life? It could be dangerous!"  
  
"Well, you have said repeatedly that you don't expect to be greater than Uncle, so that means you wouldn't ever embark on adventures greater than his, wouldn't you agree?" She smiled at him.  
  
Negi paused, mildly puzzled. It was rare for him to get stumped with any sort of logical statement, but there it was. His cousin's words certainly couldn't be debated, and yet he felt like there was something about them he felt obligated to argue against.  
  
"Besides, if you plan to become just as great as he was, wouldn't you agree you would be a perfect protector for me?" she caressed his scalp.  
  
"Oh, oh, of course!" he stammered, nodding nervously. After all, for him, his father was mainly a protector, and so his own dream was, more than just finding him, protecting others as well. And none of those others meant as much to him as Nekane did. So that made complete sense as well, and yet, once again there was something about the whole that just wouldn't fit. He almost wished that Nekane would speak slower so he could sort his feelings on the subject out.  
  
"And I actually would like to visit Area Eleven," she mused.  
  
"Japan," he felt he had to correct.  
  
"Sorry. They don't like being called Elevens, do they? I will need to be careful."  
  
Negi opened his mouth to argue against the assumption she was making, remembered he was talking to his sweetly smiling cousin, and closed his mouth again without a sound.  
  
"Regardless," she added, "if we establish a Provisional Contract, you still could cancel it at any moment you saw fit to push me out of harm's way, remember?"  
  
"The cancellation of an Alliance requires an agreement between both parties, however," Negi cautioned.  
  
His cousin blinked. "Negi! Are you implying I wouldn't agree with you on something that important if you suggested it to me?"  
  
Too rattled by her dismayed tone to realize, much less point out, that she was doing exactly that right then, he rushed to say, "N-No, of course not! It's just ... it's just ... very well," he relented. "Like always, you know best, Sister. I suppose I'm being what Anya calls a paranoid know-it-all again."  
  
"She calls you that?"  
  
"Only when she's angry at me," he shrugged. He felt he should probably neglect to mention the flaming kicks to the head that went along with those epithets.  
  
Nekane scowled slightly for a moment before sighing. "We'll discuss that with her later."  
  
"I have one question, however. I never learned how Pactios are done, so ..."  
  
She nodded, for she had realized that much the moment he hadn't panicked and blushed like crazy when she brought the suggestion up. "I thought so," she simply said, choosing to let him think it was due to her Big Sister Powers. "But I must say I'm surprised they never mentioned it during your studies."  
  
Negi thought that class had been given the day he had been in bed after a particularly nasty flaming kick. And for some reason, Anya had refused to share that day's notes with him afterward. Come to think about it, her face had been strangely red that day, much like Nekane's cheeks had just now turned a lovely shade of scarlet. He wondered if there was a relation. "I ... I think I might have forgotten it. But I remember Chamo telling me he knew how to make Pactios, and how he'd get me many of those someday ... maybe we should call him now so he could --"  
  
"NO!" Nekane cried out, blushing even more fiercely. She was one of the very few in the region who didn't hate the ermine elf, but his presence there would definitely only make things worse, even if he wasn't a fugitive from the law. "I mean, he's currently far too busy, and I can arrange for a Pactio between us, really!"  
  
"You can?"  
  
She smiled again. "Of course I can!" Well, she had read about it long ago, while dreaming of a Pactio with Uncle. She never had carried one out, but she felt confident that she could remember enough about it to pull it off successfully. She was a Springfield, after all!  
  
"Oh, wow!" he was truly excited now. "I want to see how it's done! What do we need for it?"  
  
She pulled a piece of chalk out of her breast pocket. A Springfield was always prepared for everything. Like Batman. "This, a floor, you and me," she replied. Falling to her knees as he backed away, she began drawing the circle she had memorized that long ago. In moments like those, she was grateful of having such a good memory, and such obsessive tendencies when it came to her dreams about Uncle. And Negi. The boy watched, in fascination, how she drew the complex circle on the wooden floor, complete with runes and numbers or arcane mystical meanings. And just as soon as it was complete, it began glowing with a faint golden light.  
  
 _"Incredible...!"_ Negi whispered.  
  
Nekane herself was surprised it had worked, and so quickly, too. A small part of her had been hoping for a failure so she wouldn't have to do what would come next. But she had gone this far, and she couldn't back away now. Standing back up on the circle, she gestured for Negi to stand right before her. Obediently, he did so. "Now what?" he asked.  
  
She smiled nervously, gathering her courage, her blush brighter than ever. Her instincts were screaming at her about how awful and terrible of an idea this was, but she did her best to kick them aside and plow over them. Somehow, it worked. "Negi," she softly said. "You will always trust me no matter what, won't you?"  
  
Silently, he nodded, feeling a sudden strange knot in his belly and down below.  
  
"So will I," she promised, taking a very deep breath, and then she leaned forward and tenderly touched his lips with her own.  
  
Negi felt a powerful shudder running up his whole body as Nekane kissed him. She had kissed him before, in the innocent way family members would kiss each other. (In truth, once or twice she had gone slightly further than that, but not enough to make him realize there was something wrong about their contact.) But this time it was very different. For the first time ever, he felt uncomfortable as she kissed him, and yet, it did not feel bad. It was just that he felt himself stirring in a fashion that disconcerted him. The sensations were, rather quickly, gathering around his crotch, and now for some reason he was feeling very much the same way he did when he woke up with a stiff ... boyhood.  
  
As for Nekane, she was starting to feel frustrated. Not because of the kiss itself, which was very good, even if she didn't have that many benchmarks to compare it against. It was because the Pactio Card had yet to appear. The light of the circle had engulfed them completely, but she couldn't feel the surge of power the books said would signal the Card's summoning. What were they doing wrong? Well, other than kissing despite their blood relationship. She didn't think the spirits of magic had any rules against relatives establishing Alliances, but what if they did? It was a topic the books had never discussed, and she'd never dared to ask anyone, so ...  
  
Feeling Negi squirming slightly against her, she kept him in place by grabbing his arms. His body pushed unwillingly against hers, and she felt his hardened crotch brush against her upper body, since she had crouched down to get access to his lips. Startled, Nekane backed away violently, and the boy could finally gasp for air. Falling on her butt and planting both hands on the floor, Nekane stammered, "Ne-Negi ... what ... you ..."  
  
"I, I, I'm sorry!" he said, although he still wasn't quite sure why he had to be sorry. He did have some strong suspicions, however, and so he looked down at the small tent in his pants. "It's never happened before while I'm awake! Maybe, maybe it's the tension, and the surprise, and ... why, why did you do that?"  
  
"It ... it was supposed to activate the Pactio between us ..." his cousin said hesitantly, looking at the circle, which was still glowing. The magic had to be there, they just hadn't successfully triggered it for their link yet. So there had to be hope, even now. She looked back at the mortified boy. "Negi ... it's okay, sorry, I should have warned you first. And, and don't be ashamed! That is ... normal! It happens to all boys past a certain age."  
  
"Really?" asked Negi, abruptly relieved.  
  
Nekane nodded. "It tends to happen a few years down the road, but you're a precocious prodigy at everything, so I suppose it's all right. What worries me is why the Pactio hasn't worked."  
  
"Maybe we should call Chamo, after all?"  
  
She actually considered it seriously then. "Do you know how to find him?"  
  
"No," he had to admit. "Maybe wave some underwear out the window?"  
  
"I doubt even his sense of smell is that good, Negi," Nekane guessed incorrectly. "Well, it's my first time arranging or receiving a Pactio, so the mistake must be mine. The circle itself seems to be functional, so the problem must lie in how we are doing it."  
  
"Maybe I don't have enough magical energy to sustain a Pactio!" Negi grew worried.  
  
Nekane shook her head. "No, that can't be it. You're as gifted as your father. I'm completely sure of that. Maybe we need ... a deeper kind of contact ..." Her breathing quickened.  
  
She was doing it again, and she knew it. Taking the wrong path, much like with Nagi. And yet, once again, she couldn't stop this time, either. She wouldn't lose Negi like she had lost him. This time she would secure him to her side, before anyone else could take him away. No matter what it would take, no matter how low she had to fall. Nothing mattered now but Negi.  
  
"Sit down at that side of the circle," she raggedly commanded. Intrigued by her nervous, agitated behavior, he regardless obeyed, as she breathed in and out, deeply, trying to control herself. "You trust me, now and forever, don't you, Negi?"  
  
"You know I do."  
  
"Negi," she said. "What we are about to do ... it may, no, will be called wrong by many. But, but a real mage who walks their own path with strength ... such a person can't worry themselves about what will others think. Your father understood that, and you still want to be like your father, right?"  
  
"Of course, but you said ..."  
  
"Spread your legs just a little, not too much," Nekane found the inner force to say, despite her apprehensions. When he did so without a single questions, her hands, as if moving on their own, began working open his jacket, unbuttoning it so it opened, allowing her access to the suspenders holding his pants in place. Once those were unhooked, she pulled his belt off. Just like him, to take as many precautions as possible for something as simple as keeping his pants on. That made her feel even more guilty, but not enough to stop.  
  
"Sister, what are you, I don't understand, thiiiiiiiiiis," he gasped, as she tugged his pants down his legs.  
  
There was no turning back now. For better or worse.  
  
Before he could even decide on a course of action, Negi's pants already were past down his ankles. To her credit, Nekane seemed just as scared out her wits as him, and barely had a better notion of what to do next. Still, she told herself it was her duty as the older sister to lead and calm him down. So she made her best steady soothing voice, as she caressed the surface of his underwear with slightly trembling fingers, making him quiver.  
  
"Shhh ... shhhhh ... it's all right, I told you, trust me, Negi..." She realized the horrible hypocrisy of those words, but she couldn't back away now. "Really ... you have grown so much."  
  
He ventured a shy glance down there. "N-No, it hasn't grown that much, actually."  
  
"Just reaching this stage of maturity is itself a big step, Negi," she softly told him, her touch growing slightly bolder, feeling the tip beneath the cloth. "You're my dream man, already, my Master ..."  
  
"Ahh?" Negi's voice drawled out a bit, then became a gasp as she pulled the elastic of his boxers and freed the small erection. And then she kissed its tip, making him yowl. "Ahhh!" with his hands on her head.  
  
Nekane's mouth moved ahead, taking more of his length in, until her nose touched his lower belly, and her tongue reached to the root of his member. She bathed the penis with her saliva, at which point Negi pulled his hands back and tossed his head around. "Sister! Fwaahhhhh!"  
  
She kept on sucking him, diligently, moving her hips and rear in a way that unknowingly teased and excited him even more. Without really intending to, he stopped struggling and protesting to focus his eyes on the young woman's shapely lower body, which rotated in a very slow cadence along her suction. She was on her knees between his legs, which had clamped slightly around her midsection. "Nn! Ah. Ah! Mmm. Mmm! Sister!" he gasped. After a few moments, he added, "I'm going, I feel like I'm about to, I don't know, ahhhhh!"  
  
And his body stiffened, and he felt something leaving him as an amazing new sensation touched him to his core. Shivering in the throes of his first release, he looked down to see Nekane stopping as well, making small gulping sounds before pulling back, wiping her mouth delicately and panting. He never had thought her face could look that red. "Wow," she whispered. "That really was a lot, Negi."  
  
"I-I'm sorry! Have I, somehow ... I don't know, I have no idea, but...!"  
  
"Don't worry, Negi. I'm fine," she said, sniffing the smell sticking to her fingers after cleaning her mouth. It had been a long while. But it smelled just like his. However ... "The Pactio. It still hasn't been achieved," she noticed, looking all around the two of them. The circle still was glowing, through. "Where are we failing?" she wondered aloud.  
  
"Maybe, maybe we need to do it again?" he said, and she thought he sounded vaguely hopeful despite his nervousness. Looking at his crotch, she was surprised to see it still kept some rigidity to it, tip pearly with his substance.   
  
Nekane smiled. Once again, he was just like his father.  
  
"We'll try something different this time," she decided, standing up to begin unhooking her dress. "It's the next step in the union between a man and a woman. If this doesn't make us Partners, nothing will."  
  
His eyes grew abnormally huge as he saw her dropping her dress, then her modest white brassiere. While he had taken more baths with him than he could (or cared to) remember, there was something strangely different from seeing her undress this time. With a subtle gesture, she motioned at him to get naked, and so he did, quickly, growing even harder as he did, and trembling violently. Once he was in the nude, she pulled down her panties, the sole article of clothing remaining on her, and then sat down on the floor, right before him. Gently, she pulled his face towards her breasts. "You like them, don't you, Negi? I can tell you do. There's no shame in it. While sleeping, you'll always snuggle against them. So ... ah ... why don't you kiss them?"  
  
He wasn't sure what that had to do with a Pactio, but he couldn't deny to himself he felt a strong unexplainable attraction towards what he was seeing, so he leaned ahead and began kissing one of the pale globes of flesh. He planted several delicate kisses on it and its counterpart as she purred, and then she started moaning when he, exploring new things to do, caught a nipple on his mouth and instinctively began suckling on it like a newborn. "You really love them ..." she said hoarsely. "Big ... plump ... smooth... all for you ..." she mused, slowly falling on her back and pulling him down with her, pushing him down so his mouth had to release her saliva coated chest. That made him groan, until the motion made his ... thing rub against the entrance of hers, and that caused him to shudder as if electricity had just hit him.  
  
"Negi," she said. "Boys' parts are intended to fit in there. That ... that is what you have to do for us ... to become full partners," she gulped. "Take it easy. Or you, you can just back away, if you want to. I won't hold any grudge against you either way. But, but I would like it, if you put, yourself, in there, and, and --"  
  
"Like ... like this?" His teeth chattered as he grabbed Nekane's hips with both hands and inexpertly guided his member against her vulva. It took him a couple of attempts, but on the third one, when she was least expecting it, he slid inside, and she cried, more out of shock than any fullness. It was just like having a finger down there, but the meaning of the act itself more than made up for it.   
  
"Ah! Have I, have I --?"  
  
 _"Y-Y-Yesssssss,"_ she hissed, clawing against the floor, as she noticed the ghostly shape of a card starting to take form in the air above their heads. Finally. "It's, it's working, Negi. K-Keep it going. Push in, then pull back, then push again, and so on."  
  
It was a fairly simple procedure, but for once his brilliant mind was stuck. "H-How?"  
  
"Like this," she said, beginning to slowly, carefully move her hips back and forth, gently pumping against him. An inarticulate moan escaped his lips. "Yes, yes, move it like that," she encouraged, while he acted on primal instinct, holding himself to her hips. "Don't stop until we're done. Ahhhh." Her eyes rolled back. Her mouth dripped drool. "Ah ..."  
  
Physically, it didn't feel half as good as doing it with his father, their father, so long ago. He was far from reaching the size and might of a skilled veteran, but she would get him there. What mattered the most was, the forbidden thrill was there just as strongly now, or even stronger. It was dirty and wrong, but that had been half of what it had made it so good back then, too. "Yes, that is, give me my baby, our baby." She couldn't hold herself back, starting to chant the same spell she also had muttered under her breath that time as well. Having such a good memory was both a blessing and a curse.   
  
"Wait, what, no --" he gasped, but her legs kept him pressed against her, and he groaned, unable to will himself to pull out despite the red alerts blaring in his head.   
  
She knew it hadn't worked then. But it would work now! She feverishly thought that as he kept on pushing against her, their voices growing higher in pitch together. "Don't wait any longer, it's meant to be, it's our destiny!"  
  
"Uh ... mm!"  
  
"Hauu!" she cried as she climaxed.  
  
"Sister!!" he cried back. "Feels so good! It's coming out again!"  
  
"NEGI!" she yelled while her little brother had the second ejaculation of his life, within her. It was complete now, for better or worse.  
  
And the the light coming out the Pactio circle became blinding.  
  
For the next few moments after feeling the liquid seed spraying into her, Nekane kept herself rigidly in place, staring directly at the card that had appeared and now danced weightlessly in the air, over their joined bodies. Negi's ragged breathing, born from emotional turmoil rather than physical exhaustion, dominated the scene in the otherwise chilling silence of the room.  
  
Nekane, almost lazily, reached up to easily catch the card in her hand when it finally descended. The action made Negi look as well, their eyes falling at the same time on the picture of Nekane wearing a rather androgynous ensemble of tight white suit with matching top hat and elaborate domino mask. In one hand, that Nekane held a long shiny baton, and in the other, a red rose held against her face in a roguish pose.   
  
"What does this mean?" Negi weakly ventured, surprised by the result. He had seen Pactio cards before, including the permanent one belonging to Miss Donet, but he never had expected for his cousin to wear anything like that in hers. It made her look like a boy, as a matter of fact, even if a particularly effeminate one.  
  
The card read _Necane Springfield. Nigra Rosa Barone_.  
  
"I have no idea," Nekane softly confessed, sitting up in a way that dislodged Negi's dripping penis from her vagina. Now that the deed was done, her earlier emotional rush was over, and to replace it, ice-cold realization and shame poured in at full force. Much like her time with Nagi, actually. She wasn't any wiser now, after all. She still acted on impulses only to regret it later, and now Negi would pay for it.  
  
The card looked like a Permanent one to her. It was shinier than the average, with elegant silvery edges, although it was not as resplendent or as hard to the touch as Miss Donet's, who had once allowed her touching hers. She supposed it had to be because she had less magical power than the Magus' Ministra, or because the method to establish the alliance had been different. Seriously, no one anywhere thought they had Pactio'ed (as young mages were prone to call it) by having sex.  
  
 _Elsewhere, the Magus gently caressed Donet's face as he took her from behind, on his office desk, pants pooled around their ankles._  
  
Well, there was a good and a bad side to it. On one hand, now odds were Negi couldn't be tricked into Pactios by anyone else who would wish to exploit him and his innocence. (This time, the irony in her own thoughts blissfully flew over Nekane's head.) On the other, she hadn't, at first, intended for the situation to go this far. At first, she had only wished for a provisional alliance; the Magus would not approve that, certainly, but neither would disapprove enough to oppose their relationship as Magister and Ministra, and their trip to Area Eleven together. However, she had gone out of control, taken away by her reborn raging passions, and now she couldn't show that Card to the Magus without having to explain it, and she couldn't pass a test on how to make a Permanent Pactio without sex. She would ruin Negi's cherished dream even before it started. Unless ...  
  
"It doesn't matter either way. I can't go with you," she sadly said.  
  
"Ehhhh?" he gasped. "But, why?! You just were so adamant about it."  
  
"I know. But with a Pactio done under these conditions, we can't travel together. People would ask, important people at that, and we ... we would be separated," she sniffled sadly. "I'm sorry, Negi. I have been impulsive and failed you."  
  
He stood before her, naked, in a stunned silence that quickly made her cry. Then he said, "I see," and hugged her.  
  
Even if he couldn't understand her, he still loved her more than anything or anyone. Even more than his father, or rather the ideal of him. He would have to leave her shortly, but he would return to her as soon as he could. To her, and ...  
  
That had reminded him. The boy swallowed. "About that, that thing you said, about a baby, well, and I have read about how are babies made, and ... and ..."  
  
She wept even harder, hugging him back. "I'm so deeply sorry, Negi! Please forgive your stupid, immoral sister!" she lamented, with the air of one whose life had just been destroyed.  
  
He didn't let her go. "... it's okay. W-We'll cope with it, somehow ... I'm sure. Just, just wait for my return, please. We ... we'll think of something," he tried to reassure himself as much as her.  
  
Yet, even in the middle of those deep, serious contemplations, he was distracted by the sensation of his hardness returning as their bodies pressed tightly against each other for mutual support. Even sweaty, she still smelt so good, and her body was so soft and warm ...  
  
They had gone that far. To cope, to feel something, to comfort each other in the face of adversity, they ended up doing it four more times all over the house, through the cold night. Each time, he finished inside of her. If for some miracle the initial spell hadn't worked, she still would have been pregnant by morning. That, too, was something she only realized after the fact, much to her renewed distress.  
  
But there was at least one good thing about it, she supposed. Even if he lacked his father's power and technique, she had made sure he at least had the same stamina as Nagi, for some reason.  
  


* * *

  
So, that Saturday, it was with a very heavy heart that Nekane went to the airport to say goodbye. Anya would be leaving the day after, to make matters worse. Even so, the young woman tried, once more, to keep her best brave and cheerful facade.  
  
Come to think about it, perhaps it would do Negi good, after all, to grow up and mature abroad. It might help him face the challenges he would have to share in nine months or so. Even if it wasn't his fault. Nekane flincherd inside yet again as she thought of that, and tried to distract herself from the moment thinking of how the Magus or Miss Donet couldn't be bothered to come and tell Negi their goodbyes. Well, being fair to them, perhaps pressing matters of great importance for the Academy were keeping them too busy at the moment.  
  
 _Elsewhere, the Magus caressed Donet's face as he took her from behind, both naked on the carpet of his office._  
  
"Well, I guess it can't be helped, then," Anya was saying, unknowingly mirroring Nekane's thoughts. "Try not to be harmed or steamrolled while there, Negi. You got my e-mail, Twitter and Facebook, so give me a call if they ever abuse you."  
  
Rather than asking what could she do about it from a continent or so away, since he had a fairly educated guess, he lamely said, "Ahhh ... yes, I think I'll get to work on getting myself an e-mail, Twitter and Facebook there, first."  
  
"Stupid cyber-illiterate Negi!"  
  
"Ahhh! Sorry, sorry, it's the first thing I'll do there! With any luck I'll get a roommate who can help me with it!"  
  
 _In Japan, one Hasegawa Chisame sneezed._  
  
Nekane, who had been too busy holding her tears back to get closer or speak too much, tensed up when she heard the last call for Negi's flight. "W-well, it's only a matter of a few months for us to meet again. You'll come for the summer holidays, won't you, Negi?"  
  
He nodded. "Of course I will. Please... take good care of yourself in my absence, Sister, Anya."  
  
"That's my line!" Anya snapped.   
  
Nekane smiled sadly and hugged him. "You'll be fine. You're my super-hero."  
  
He blushed. "I thought your super-hero was --"  
  
"She means you're her ... well, that poser who flies around in golden armor, Buster Whatever, to Mister Nagi's Superman," Anya slyly snickered. "C'mon, hurry up, you sap!" she urged, pushing him ahead. "The plane won't wait for you, slowpoke!"  
  
He smiled, sharing one last look with a suddenly wrecked Nekane. Then he gave her a thumbs up, turned back, and walked away without looking back.  
  
Once the doors closed after him, Nekane began weeping on her handkerchief, her knees faltering. Anya approached her, repressing stubborn sniffles of her own. "Oh, oh, come on, Nekane, it's not ... like we'll never see the little snot again. The months will fly by, you'll see ... and then ..."  
  
Nekane's arms latched around her first child and held her firmly against her body, almost crushing her as she kept weeping. And then, angrily, so did Anya.  
  
The plane was already just a tiny speck in the clear Spring sky.  
  


* * *

  
  
**Next:** Academy of Adventure.

 


End file.
